Dermot Ryan, PhD

I am an Associate Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University. My research focuses on British and Irish literature of the long eighteenth century with a particular emphasis on print culture and postcolonial theory. My research has appeared in Studies in Romanticism, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Études irlandaises, and SubStance. My first book, Technologies of Empire (University of Delaware Press, 2013), explores the ways in which eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century authors use imagination and writing not only to conceptualize emerging global empires, but also to contribute to their consolidation and expansion. I’m currently revising an essay on David Mitchell’s novel, Cloud Atlas and an article on Karl Marx’s writings on Ireland. I first got interested in digital humanities through new media theory and my own long-term interest in the history and theory of technology. For instance, I realized that concepts like Grusin and Bolter’s remediation were useful to think about the gothic revival in the latter half of the eighteenth century. From there, my interest in historical transitions from one type of media culture to another got me curious to think and learn more about this transition in our contemporary moment. In other words, my initial interest in digitization was primarily theoretical as opposed to practical. I’m currently trying to figure out how certain digital tools and platform can enhance and complement the way I teach and research the long eighteenth century. Contact Me